Amend constitution, hold re-election: AIBA to IABF

Thrown into disarray by a provisional suspension, the Indian Boxing Federation has been offered a glimmer of hope by its parent body AIBA, which has asked it to hold a re-election and amend its constitution to get the ban revoked.

IABF's senior vice-President Brig P K Muralidharan Raja, who met AIBA President Dr Ching-Kuo Wu in Yerevan, Armenia on Friday night and on Saturday morning, said that the suspension "would not last long".

The International Boxing Association (AIBA) on Friday suspended IABF, citing the International Olympic Committee's ban on the IOA and "possible manipulation" in the IABF's September elections.

But Raja said once the IABF complies with the AIBA directives, the body would lift the suspension as soon as the IOC revokes the ban on the IOA.

"I had a detailed discussion with the AIBA President, who firstly made it clear that AIBA had nothing against India. It was very happy with the way things are being run. The primary reason for the suspension was the IOC ban on the IOA and since AIBA had received some complaints about the election, it decided to investigate that aspect as well," Brig Raja said.

"I clarified to him that the September elections were transparent and held as per our constitution. The floor was unanimous in choosing office-bearers and even though some people may have complaints, it does not mean that the elections were manipulated," he added.

"The AIBA has now asked us to amend our Constitution to make it compliant with the AIBA statute and hold a re-election in the presence of an AIBA observer. Once we do that, the AIBA will lift the suspension the moment IOC lifts the ban on the IOA because that is the primary reason for our suspension," he explained.